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“Work more” seems to be Germany’s knee-jerk response to the economic crisis. However, AI has made one thing clear: Instead of simply relying on increased effort, Germany should focus on the more efficient use of human creativity and innovation. A commentary analysis.
The call for “more work” is one of the most reliable reactions to economic weakness in Germany. He sounds determined, but seems strangely old in the age of AI. Because this technology makes it visible how much human thought is wasted in routines and friction, the problem in our economy may not be a lack of commitment, but rather how poorly we deal with intelligence, creativity and intellectual innovation.
Germany is in an economic crisis, economic growth is low or non-existent. But if you take a closer look at the crisis, you could come to the conclusion that Germany is perhaps also, perhaps even more so, in a crisis of waste. By this I don’t mean wasting money or wasting opportunities, but rather wasting mental energy.
Economic crisis: AI shows what really costs time and growth
Because every day in companies, administrations and organizations, countless hours disappear in routines, queries, follow-ups, search movements, reporting loops, wording variants and coordination.
They feel important, but often just create friction and waste time. And although all of this is happening and is repeatedly denounced, surprisingly often we still talk as if the central question is whether people work enough.
This initially sounds like a provocative thesis. However, it is not entirely out of thin air. The German economy only grew by 0.2 percent in real terms in 2025. At the same time, the number of employed people remained at a very high level.
Of course, that alone doesn’t prove anything. But it doesn’t fit well with the simple narrative that, above all, there is a lack of willingness to work. Rather, it suggests that the relationship between effort and impact is no longer correct.
In addition, the OECD points to administrative burdens, shortages of skilled workers and a lack of economic dynamism as key brakes for Germany. And the German Bundesbank sees the worsening competitive position of German companies as a key reason for export market losses. None of this sounds like a country that just needs a few extra hours of work. It sounds like a country that burns too much energy in the wrong places.
AI as a mirror of our activities
It is precisely at this point that artificial intelligence (AI) becomes interesting, but not as a magic wand or as a simple promise of salvation for quickly achieved economic growth. Nor is it a comfortable fantasy that economic weakness can simply be eliminated. For me, AI becomes much more interesting than a rather unpleasant mirror.
Because AI shows something that professional politicians with no experience as employees or as owners of a company in particular would prefer not to see in detail: namely, how people in companies and authorities spend their days reshaping information instead of doing something new with it.
How often highly qualified specialists do not work on difficult problems, but on the linguistic, formal and organizational side effects and documentation of complex systems. And how much potential remains unused because too many people are busy with administration instead of with impact.
AI in the economic crisis as an indictment of a waste of time
To me, this is the real reason why the debate about AI is so interesting. AI is not just a technology to increase productivity. Rather, it is also an “indictment of a waste of time.”
As soon as an AI can deliver a summary, a draft text, a structuring, a preliminary analysis or a sorted evaluation in seconds, it becomes clear with a certain degree of clarity how much expensive human working time has so far been wasted into precisely these activities. So AI doesn’t just make things faster. Rather, they make visible what we have thought was normal for far too long.
In my opinion, Germany’s problem is not that there is not enough work being done. The problem is that too much human labor is spent on activities that do not increase tomorrow’s prosperity.
If, in a knowledge-intensive economy like ours, more work is demanded across the board without also talking about the quality, leverage and direction of this work, then busyness and activity in general are confused with progress.
Where companies waste attention
And this is even more true in an aging society. Especially when skilled workers are in short supply and the existing ones are getting older and older, it is almost absurd to overload the time of those who remain with non-value-adding routines that can be accelerated, prepared or at least partially automated.
In particular, AI becomes a technology of exposure. It reveals where in companies and organizations attention is being wasted or has to be wasted due to the relevant regulations. It reveals where decision-making processes have become unnecessarily slow. And it exposes where thoroughness is confused with delay.
What happens if AI doesn’t replace people, but uses them better?
In particular, I am not concerned with the now all-too-familiar narrative that humans are being replaced by AI. This narrative is usually either too simple or too convenient. The more interesting question is: What would be possible if we didn’t replace people, but instead used them better? What happens if AI takes over some of the preparatory work that previously kept people busy with routines instead of getting them to the really important tasks?
Then, of all things, a technology that is so often described as a threat could become a tool that brings people back to the point where their activities really make sense: when classifying, deciding, prioritizing, negotiating, inventing and explaining.
Of course, AI alone does not solve the entire German growth problem. It does not lower energy prices, it does not replace industrial policy and it does not conjure up courageous investment decisions. But perhaps the crucial point lies precisely in this sober classification. AI doesn’t have to solve everything to be extremely economically relevant. It’s enough if it forces us to acknowledge an unpleasant truth: that for a long time in Germany we got away with selling intellectual sluggishness as respectability.
Less sweat, less waste: the real way out of the crisis
Perhaps this is precisely where the real economic provocation of AI lies. It doesn’t just threaten individual activities. Rather, it also threatens patterns of justification. She questions why certain forms of slowness and laboriousness have previously been considered normal, professional or even without alternative.
And it forces us to ask a question that is far bigger than any tool debate: What exactly do we actually want to use human intelligence for in the future? The answer to this question may ultimately be more important than any morally charged debate about hard work. Because the way out of the economic crisis may not lead first through more sweat, but finally through less waste.
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The post Working more doesn’t solve the economic crisis – AI shows why appeared first on BASIC thinking. Follow us too Google News and Flipboard or subscribe to our newsletter UPDATE.
As a Tech Industry expert, I believe that simply working more will not solve the economic crisis. The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has shown that increased productivity and efficiency can be achieved through automation and innovation, rather than solely relying on human labor.
AI has the potential to revolutionize industries by streamlining processes, reducing costs, and increasing output without the need for additional human labor. This means that working longer hours or increasing workforce numbers may not be the most effective solution to solving economic challenges.
Instead, investing in AI technology and upskilling workers to adapt to the changing technological landscape can lead to sustainable economic growth and create new opportunities for individuals in the workforce. It is important for businesses and policymakers to recognize the potential of AI and incorporate it into their strategies to address economic challenges in a more effective and sustainable manner.
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